Europe and the United States negotiating a
Joint Aviation Agreement [ full text ]

Having received the backing of the Transport Ministers at the
6 October Council meeting in Luxembourg, Vice-President Barrot
telephoned with his US counterpart, Norman Y. Mineta, on 11
October: together they decided to restart talks on
transatlantic air transport services immediately.

Vice President Barrot's speech on
Sustainable Transport in the Alps[ full text
FR]

On 13 October
Jacques Barrot , Vice President of the European Commission and
Commissioner in charge of Transport, made a speech in Chambery,
France on the future of transport in the Alpine region.
Transalpine transport is at the heart of the Commission
strategy for an intermodal balance, which is even more
important today given high oil prices. During 2005
approximately 200million tonnes of goods will cross the Alps,
two-thirds of this by road. However, two-thirds of goods
crossing the Alps via Switzerland are carried by train, which
proves that the belief that the railways can play the leading
role is not utopian. The Lyon-Turin and Brenner projects are
emphasised as integral elements of readjusting the modal
balance in the Alpine region.

The CIVITAS Forum meeting "Integrating
Sustainable Transport Policies" will take place 2-4
of November 2005 in Nantes. Vice-President of the
Commission and Commissioner for Transport, Jacques Barrot will
present the CIVITAS Awards 2005 and the closing speech. The
“CIVITAS Initiative” supported by the European Union pddresses
ambitious cities that are introducing bold and innovative
measures intended to improve urban transport. The aim is to
achieve a significant change in the modal split towards
sustainable transport modes. In order to reach their goals,
the 36 CIVITAS cities follow an ambitious and coherent
approach to energy and urban transport policies. The “CIVITAS
Forum” is a key element of the “CIVITAS Initiative”. The Forum
provides a platform for the exchange of ideas and experiences.
Cities that are members of the CIVITAS Forum benefit from the
experience of those other likeminded cities that are at the
forefront in introducing clean vehicles, alternative fuels and
innovative policy measures to improve urban transport.

European Commission organises first Forum
on Fossil Fuels in Berlin on 19-20 October 2005 [
full text ]

At the initiative of
the European Commission, the Forum on Fossil Fuels has
gathered together for the first time Commission and Member
States’ representative, stakeholders and energy experts. This
first session should allow an initial exchange of views and
analyses on the prospects of the security of supply of fossil
fuels, the objective being to turn the Forum into an annual
structured dialogue with oil, gas and solid fuels industries.
As part of the response of the Commission to the oil price
increase, the meeting in Berlin will open a stakeholders’
consultation process on possible measures to be taken in the
oil sector. The Forum will be opened by Andris Piebalgs,
Commissioner for Energy, and its host, the German State
Secretary of Economy, Georg Wilhelm Adamowitsch.

The first meeting of the Sustainable Energy Forum took place
in Amsterdam on 13 and 14 October, hosted by the Dutch
authorities. This was the first gathering of the Member
States, the European Parliament, the Commission, industry and
stakeholders in the field of sustainable energy. “The coming
years will be a watershed period for both European and global
energy policy as a result of a changing market. We will need
to continue to develop and diversify our energy supply, and we
should increase the efficiency of our energy systems,” said
Commissioner Piebalgs.

The Sixth Progress
Report on the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue, prepared by the
Russian Minister of Industry and Energy Victor Khristenko and
European Commission Director General François Lamoureux in
view of the EU-Russia Summit held in London on October 4,
takes note of the steady progress being made in EU-Russia
energy relations and underlines the importance for continuing
work on bringing energy strategies closer.

European Commission authorises Czech
Republic to grant €74 million aid to its coal industry[
full text ]

The European
Commission decided on 20 October not to raise any
objections to the €74 million aid which the Czech Republic is
proposing to grant its coal industry. The aid is compatible
with the proper functioning of the common market. The money is
exclusively intended to cover so-called inherited liabilities,
which arise in the context of the closure of coal mines. The
Czech coal industry does not receive any subsidies for current
coal production. The Commission today also decided that the
state funding of the public body PKU (Palivový kombinát Ústí)
does not constitute state aid, as PKU is not carrying out an
economic activity.

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